Report Says Majority Of Athletes Carry Guns For Protection

Rivers Agrees With NBA Edict For Players To Leave Guns At Home

Players and team officials “estimated a vast majority of NBA and NFL athletes carry firearms –- legally or illegally –- and that the number of handgun owners among them has reached an all-time high,” according to Bob Hohler of the BOSTON GLOBE. Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney, who holds a Texas license to carry a concealed weapon said, “I would say about 90[%] of players in the league have guns to protect themselves.” An NBA team official said in the NBA that figure “is closer to 100[%] than it is to 50[%].” Hohler notes Gaffney is “one of at least 27 elite athletes who have been investigated in the last 21 months for incidents involving firearms.” Northeastern Univ. Center for the Study of Sport in Society Dir Peter Roby said the new generation of pro athletes “have grown up with the glamorization of carrying a handgun. But there’s also a practical side. ... Theses are young people who have an awful lot of money and are worried about whether they are going to be a target.” But Celtics coach Doc Rivers “echoed NBA commissioner David Stern, who ... urged players to leave their guns at home.” Both the NBA and the NFL have policies that “bar players from carrying guns on league business and have stepped up efforts through seminars and other educational programs to discourage players from carrying handguns” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/10).